September 9--Bl. Frédéric Ozanam, Holy Man

 

Blessed Frédéric Ozanam. Frontispiece from Complete Works of Frederic Ozanam, Lecoffre editions, Paris , 1862 ( second edition). PD-US-expired.

“What can I do? I am just one person.” We may ask ourselves that question and respond in the same manner, especially when we believe our efforts are few and far between. And yet, just one person bore the Son of God. As well, just one person IS the Savior of the world. Today’s blessed is just one person and he is the inspiration for about 800,000 persons worldwide in 140 countries. Bl. Frédéric Ozanam (1813-1853) co-founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in 1833 “for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor.” As a law student in Paris he saw the need to help others in their need. He promoted service to the poor by the laity following the model of St. Vincent de Paul and under the guidance of Bl. Rosalie Rendu, a sister of the Daughters of Charity. That model uses small “conferences” of laity to work to help the poor in their areas. There are about 4,400 conferences in the United States alone. Bl. Frédéric died in 1853 of tuberculosis and was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II in 1997.

Pope John Paul said of him: “Frédéric Ozanam loved everyone who was deprived. From his youth, he became aware that it was not enough to speak about charity and the mission of the Church in the world: rather what was needed was an effective commitment of Christians in the service of the poor. … He observed the real situation of the poor and sought to be more and more effective in helping them in their human development. He understood that charity must lead to efforts to remedy injustice. Charity and justice go together.” Join the Vincentians and serve others! Bl. Frédéric Ozanam, pray for us!